Sir+John+A+Macdonald

Sir John A Macdonald

Sir John A. Macdonald was Canada's first Prime Minister. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland. January 11, 1815 and emigrated to the province of Canada in 1820. John attended school in Kingston, Ontario. He wrote the Bar exam and worked for a legal firm at age fifteen and had his own legal practice at age 19.

John began his political career when he served as city alderman in Kingston. In 1844 he was on the Legislative Assembly and became Receiver General for the Province of Canada in 1847.

Macdonald had a lengthy political career through to 1867 when the Dominion of Canada was formed and he became the first Prime Minister of Canada.

John had personal problems and his drinking problem was well known and often stories about his drinking were printed in The Globe newspaper. He also had financial problems when his law partner died leaving John with $80,000 in bills. At that time his first wife, Isabella Clark, and first son both died. John remarried to Susan Bernard in 1867 and had a daughter, Mary. She had severe disabilities.

Although he had many problems and difficulties John was known as a wise, intelligent, charismatic man. He was a great organizer and worked hard towards his dream for Canada. Some of his accomplishments were the building of the railway, the RCMP, the first Notional Park, and the Canadian Constitution.

After a political scandal called the Pacific Scandal, Macdonald's political life was in ruins and he resigned on Nov 5, 1873. But 5years later the Conservatives won the election and John A. Macdonald was Prime Minister once again.

At the age of 76 Macdonald suffered a stroke and died, June 6, 1891.

Sir John A. Macdonald's father, Hugh Macdonald was born in a small town just north of Iverness, Scotland. Hugh later moved to Glasglow, Scotland. Hugh moved to Glasglow hoping he could find so. What he did find instead though was the opportunity for a family and a beautiful wife. Her name was Helen Shaw and together they had 5 children in 8 years. Their first died in infancy which made John the oldest son. Sir John A. Macdonald was born on January 11, 1815 in Glasglow, Scotland. John had an older sister, Margaret(Born 1813), as well as a younger brother and sister, James (Born 1816) and Louisa (Born 1818). John father was son of a shopkeeper, but always felt he could be so much more. Every business he tried though failed. With family to feed he needed more money, something they heard British North America had. So, they moved to upper Canada in 1820. They settled in Kingston with many other from Scotland, they opened yet another business but yet again it failed. Two years after they moved to Canada John's younger brother was killed after being hit by a drunken servant making John the only boy. Since the store in Kingston failed, they moved to Hay Bay, then moved again to the town of Glenora. They bought a stone mill and for once it worked out for them. They lived in Glenora for 10 years, since the milling business had prospered hthey could afford more and Hugh wanted to give his son the best education he could. The school's nearby though didn't please him so he sent John away to boarding school. John enjoyed school and loved to read and learn. He left school at age 14, he started working at 15 (like most boys) and earned his own living. John met a lawyer by the name of George Mackenzie who was so impressed by John's intelligence and motive he hired John as an apprentice. When Mackenzie opened up another office in Napanee he picked John to run it. In 1841 his father died so John went to Scotland to clear up some issues and to visit where he was born. When travelling all over Britain, he met his cousin Isabella and married her in Canada 1843. Within a year of coming to Canada, Isabella became sick. John took her to Georgia to stay with family and her health improved. They stayed in the U.S.A for several months but John had to go back to Canada for work. He left her behind to recover and visited when he could. Isabella gave birth to John Jr. But sadly he died at only 13 months old. Two years later she gave birth yet again to Hugh John. He is still alive. John always had money troubles and there was never enough of it. Not only did his career produced no money but it left him with barely any time for law practice. John finally fell to drinking to try and deal with his sick wife, stress, and pressure.